Bite of the Demon Gerald's Story
by Paranoidgirl
Summary: Bite of the Demon fanfic. Poor Gerald.... accidentally opening a portal to another world and summoning demons.... this is not his day.
1. Chapter 1

Bite of the demon

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A/N:

Okay, here's the deal;  
Bite of the Demon has been, and still is my favorite children's book (Namely because of the Moloch Larvea, probably the scariest creatures in existance, and have been a staple in my imagination ever since as the epitome of horrifying beings in both looks, mindset and overall feel.), it's very obscure, even here in Holland, and the fandom probably consists of just me.  
This probably gives me some liberties, but I'm not going to lie. It's laying right next to me, and most dialogue between Kareem, Gerald (Gerbert in the book, but that's a ridiculously Dutch name, so I felt the need to give him another name) and John (Jaap in the book, see 'Gerbert') is lifted straight from the book.  
However, the P.O.V. change I use DOES warrant some creative freedom, since at least half of the story, Gerald is separated from John and Kareem, and since the book is from John's point of view, a lot of the more interesting things (In my view) happen off screen, and leave a lot to the imagination.  
Oh, and while my favorite genre to read, this is actually my first story that can be defined as horror, so I'm a bit new at this.... hopefully my style is effective.  
*Deep breath*  
Okay, without further ado, I give you the ONLY 'Bite of the Demon'-fanfiction in the world (Probably);

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The supernatural..... believe in it, or not. I used to think it was all a bunch of crap. Ghosts, vampires, were-wolfs, demons..... nonsense, although highly amusing. But when you get in the middle of your own horror-story, by your own fault, even..... let's just say that viewpoints and opinions can change.....

My name's Gerald, twenty-nine years old, an archaeologist and my life has become a horror-story..... sit tight.

Like most stories, this one starts out surprisingly normal, with me heading towards my work.

"Good afternoon, Gerald!" Anita, the receptionist of the university I work at, greeted me. "You got yourself a new tablet to translate. Ancient Sumerian, your favourite."

"Thanks, I'll get to it right away." I said, not taking my eyes of the magazine I read. It was one of those supernatural magazines, with 'proof' and sightings and everything. They even had a number for a bona fide Horror-detective, hilarious! Still reading, I took the elevator to my office floor and helped myself to a cup of coffee from the machine in the hallway. Once I arrived, I tossed the magazine on an ever-growing pile, before walking to my desk, where a large envelope was laying in the centre. Opening it, I took the table that was in it. The cuneiform script felt familiar by now, even tough I did need some time to completely translate the first part.

"The poor fool that wishes to summon the Moloch." I said out loud, cracking a grin. A so-called spell, this was going to be great! "Has to utter the following words....." The following lines were peculiar.... since I couldn't find any English words for them, although I could read them. "Remototh Azdar Int...." I recited. "Uru den Atval Moloch." Well, at least I could understand one word. "Gihudran, Egudrei kal. Gisbaredth Sasdoon. Gaha.... gahadrem harkoon." I finished, stuttering that last word a bit. Sitting back, I smiled, pleased with myself.

That's when it happened.

A strange, deep purple hue began to replace the sunshine coming out of my office window, and when I looked outside.... it... it wasn't my usual view. Not a trace of the parking lot, the rest of the city, only that strange.... lake. In disbelief, I approached my window and opened it, even if it was just to check if it wasn't some sort of illusion. It wasn't. Behind my window laid this lake, made out of a poisonous green.... whatever liquid it was. The fog that surrounded the lake shifted aside, as if it sensed me, and wanted to show me more.

In the middle of the lake was some sort of Island, with large, gnarled trees growing out of it, I counted about nine, ten of them. I gathered that from the distance I spotted them, they'd have to be sequoias or something, gigantic wood giants. I averted my head to the left and gasped. A head! That... Island had a massive head! It wasn't an Island, it was a massive corpse! Some of those gnarled trees were massive claws, I could see large scales shine in that unnatural purple light, as well as large, needle-like teeth and one, horrible, milky white eye that was staring at me in it's dead-gaze, maggots crawling over it. I felt sick.... I had to look at something else before I'd loose my lunch... I stared down at the water of the lake. Up until then it had been as smooth as glass. But now, something stirred. Looking back up I saw a few.... figures swimming trough the lake towards me. Then those voices began speaking.....

_Wait for us. _They called. It was a voice so clear it was unnatural, as if the throats it came from weren't designed for the tones. _We are the pale larvae of Moloch. We smelled your fear, human. Long for our kiss, the bite of our sharp teeth. We'll grant you eternal life. Just like us, you'll become Moloch._

That.... that terrible promise shook me from my shocked state. Be like them?! Never! Feeling life return to my limbs I slammed the window shut and ran into the hallway. Behind me, I heard glass shatter. Don't look back.... keep running! Screwing the elevator, I ran down the stares and out of the front door. I half expected to see that other world... but it wasn't there. I was at the parking lot, I saw two birds fight over a piece of bread.... it all seemed even more surreal then that world those demons came from.... no time, no time for that! I started running, towards home, it felt like the best place. I must've ran for half an hour, even without my terrible condition, that was quite a feat. Slamming my door open, I wasted no time as I grabbed the phone and immediately headed for the attic, finding a hiding place underneath an old rusty bed. Underneath there, I managed to dial in a number with my trembling fingers.

Please don't be a fraud.... I begged the phone. For the love of God, be a real horror-detective!


	2. Chapter 2

After way to long (Hey, if you're being chased by demons, ten seconds is WAY to long) someone on the phone answered.

"You're speaking with John Hazred, Horror-Detective." Someone answered, he sounded surprisingly young, like a kid.... no time for that! "What can I do for you?"

"You're my only hope!" I desperately started. "They're right behind me! They smelled my fear!"

"Where are you?" The boy on the other side asked.

"Maple Road sixty-seven. Please help me! The Larvae of Moloch know my name! They can guess my very taught!" No idea if that was true, but when in panic, you presume the worst. I could hear someone else talk on the other side, he was discussing... not now! I could hear glass break from a floor below me, and those voices.... those voices called me! "They're coming!" I begged. "You're the only one that can save me!" After a few seconds another voice answered me trough the phone.

"Get on the floor and don't move a muscle." It told me. It sounded.... tiny, squeaky. Moloch Larvae can only see moving prey. They'll know you're there, but won't know your exact location. They'll never attack a prey they can't see. You got all that?"

"Yes, yes. No moving, like a brick." I hastily told the tiny voice.

"We'll be there as soon as possible. Oh, and for emergencies we'll count one-hundred and thirteen dollars an hour. Do you agree with that?" For me, this sounded so bizarre and out of place, but it made sense. And with my life at stake, this was a bargain. I managed a small squeak, afraid to talk by now. With that, the phone was silent, and I barely dared to press the button that broke the connection. A loud creak could be heard, as the door to the attic opened.

"Gerald....." One of those voices called and it took all my will to not scream. "Don't be afraid, now. Becoming one of us is a blessing." It started to move around, to search for me. "Our lives are eternal, our bodies are far more powerful then that of a human in any way.... why struggle like this?" With that, I saw those white, scaly paws from underneath my hiding place. His (Of was it their? I couldn't see) steps were small, quick, like that of a spider or an insect. "And don't forget about our wisdom. Our knowledge far exceeds that of humans. We know more then every library on Earth could contain. You're a man of knowledge, Gerald. Wouldn't it be marvellous to shed all the limitations of the human body, the human mind?" It sounded so bitter-sweet.....as if they were really out to help me, as if becoming one of them truly was a blessing. Lies. Even with my limited knowledge of them, I knew they were lying. My eyes were burning, as I didn't even dare to blink, my elbows were hurting and my legs were cramping up. But I didn't move. If I did... it would be over. "No?" The voice called, and I could hear a rasping noise. A sigh, I guessed. "All right then, have it your way." It said. "I'm leaving." Another sound I've never heard, but somehow, it sounded like sniggering. "Did you know, human, that on your world, a species of moths exist that can follow a smell from over hundreds of miles? We'll hatch their eggs and learn them the smell of your sweat. Once the night falls....." More sniggering. "They'll roam the sky and lead us directly towards you. Until then." With that, they left. At least I think they left. After a moment, I dared taking a deep breath and blinked some tears out of my eyes. Just some tears because I kept my eyes open for so long, nothing more. Nothing more......


	3. Chapter 3

I laid there for at least an hour, almost not moving, as I once more heard voices, and my attic door opening. Don't move! I told myself, it might be them!

"My name's John Hazred." I could hear someone say. It sounded young, but human as well. "The horror-detective you called. You can come out now, not a Larvae in sight." I decided to trust this voice, as I turned around and came from underneath the bed. A boy, no older then fourteen, greeted me.

"That was some life-saving advice you gave me, thanks." I told him, getting up and offering him my hand. "The name's Gerald Burnings." I said, as he shook my hand. During this gesture, a tarantula spider made it's way from the boy's pocket and onto his shoulder. And it _waved _at me with his front paws. "Your pet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My colleague." John answered casually. I should really be getting used to things like this. Rubbing his mandibles, the spider started talking. Should be getting used to that, to.

"How did you get the attention of Moloch Larvae?" It asked in a tiny voice I recognised from the phone-call. I swallowed, great, I had to tell them of my mistake. Ah well.... better to come clean then to lie.

"How I gathered their attention?" I started. "Well, a healthy dose of bad luck. I'm an Archaeologist, my field of expertise being the translation of cuneiform script. I was in my room, translating this piece......." And with that, I told them what happened. The spell, the other world behind my window, the creatures that followed me to my home..... everything that happened. John just looked at me in a mixture of amazement and horror, while his pet spider looked as if he'd dealt with this before.... he even tried to take some guilt off my shoulders, telling me it happened to the best of us. That felt kinda good.....

"So, how long ago did you speak the incantation?" He asked me at the end of my story.

"About a few hours.... it seems like an eterni.... I heard a footstep!" I stopped myself, as I heard a noise. Someone was coming up the stairs.

"Hello?" A voice called. "This is the police. Anybody home?" That... that voice. It wasn't human. It tried to sound human, but it tried so hard it failed because of it. It sounded to perfect, to clear......

"Moloch Larvae!" I whispered, feeling my panic rise again. "One of them came back!" I looked around. We needed to get out, we needed to flee! "The attic window!" I called. "We can get away from the roof!"

"No!" I could hear the spider call. "It's to late. A Larvae is quicker then us. Keep still!" I didn't listen, fear overtaking my taught process. All I could think about was getting away.

"Don't panic!" The voice from the stairs called, giving up his 'sounding human' act. "I saw the front door standing wide open." I didn't listen any more, as I dashed to the window and tried to open it. It opened for a bit.... before it stopped. I couldn't help but scream in fear. Not now.... not now!

"Gerald! Wait!" I could hear John call, as he approached me, almost just as fearful, and also doubtful, not knowing whether to listen to his spider companion, or instinct.

"I'll help!" With that, he took the attic window, as we both used our full force and managed to open it. As fast as I could, I got out.

"Watch the tiles!" I warned John. "They're extremely slippery." With that I managed to find my balance a bit, looking down. I wouldn't survive a fall, I had to be careful.....

That taught was lost when I heard a tap, before the attic window flew out of sight because of a powerful blow against it. Not thinking further, I turned around and started running to the flat roof of the garage. The gap in between was like two metres, give or take half a metre... I-I could manage, if I just.....

A tap on my shoulder brought me out, as I turned around.... and screamed my lungs out.

The creature I faced was at least a head taller then me, it's white body scaly and thin, like that of a mantis, with three pair of claws. It's faceted eyes had a black pupil which swivelled from eye to eye until they were trained on me. And the mouth.... by God, the mouth. Countless teeth like gigantic, transparent needles, like something out of the mouth of a deep-sea fish, only much larger and lethal.

"Don't be afraid." It told me, licking over his teeth with his black tongue. "Those who become a part of Moloch, never have to die again." With that, the being shot forward, and within a second I could feel those claws grabbing my shoulders and those teeth burying in my neck. My screams abruptly stopped, as I felt the immense pain of the bite. The venom... I could feel it being pumped in my veins, burning them away like acid. This horrible feeling spread quickly trough my body, beyond it and into my mind, as that to was being burned and scarred. This feeling was the last I felt, as I blacked out, and wondered just how human I would be if I woke up again.....


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke up again, everything felt different. My body, my smell, my mind. Groaning, I shifted into a sitting position.

"Welcome to your new life, brother." I could hear someone say, as the Larvae that bit me looked at me. I didn't feel afraid.... I didn't want to scream.... I felt.... a kinship with him. I was a Larvae now, just like him. I looked around, as I recognised my office and it's peculiar view. Strange, if felt oddly welcoming by now.... I calmly deducted that the venom had taken over my mind already.

"Thanks for the greeting, brother." I said, noticing my voice was still human. Looking down at my body, I could see that I was, in fact, still human on the outside. My mind, on the other hand.....

"It will take some time before the transformation is complete." The Larvae told me, sounding oddly apologetic.

"That's all right." I said, grinning. "When you have all eternity, you can wait." I could already feel changes; my human muscles were slowly being replaced by longer, much stronger ones. From my sides I could feel two bulges; an extra pair of arms was growing there. And my teeth felt extremely loose. I pulled a back one out, and my tongue could feel a much sharper tooth appear from under it.

"Just spit them out in one swift movement." The Larvae advised me. "It'll feel a lot better."

"Not yet." I said, realising something. Some unfinished business. "I still need my guise as a human."

"Ah." The Larvae answered, probably knowing exactly what I talked about. "The human boy."

"I'm afraid he and his companion know to much about us, and may pose a threat."

"No fear, our brothers are combing out the city as we speak."

"But they know of the tablet, they know the portal is in this building." I told him. "You warn your... our brothers, I'll stay here in case they get here sooner."

"Sounds like a plan." The Larvae said, as he prepared to leave. "Until later, when we will remove our final obstacle, and this world is ours for the taking." It said, as it left. Once it was gone, I looked around my office. It all felt so alien to me now.... this wasn't my home any more. This entire planet wasn't my home any more. Somewhere deep inside of me, something fought that taught. My humanity was still struggling and clawing at my new consciousness, begging to be freed. But that would not be. Soon, those last vestiges of my human self would die, in both body and mind, and I would fully become a Larvae. However... I was still human enough to not wish harm upon John. He tried to help me... best I could do was try and get him out of this. If not... oh well, it's the taught that matters. Sighing contently, I started up my computer. I still had time, and I could gather some information. With that taught I opened the files of my previously translated work. Mostly useless stuff, but some of them were spells, incantations, potions and just sheer knowledge about dark magic. I sighed, shaking my head. Oh, what a fool I've been to wave it all of as nonsense..... I could only imagine the power I had if I figured it out sooner. No matter, I could get this power now. My eyes scrolled the screen, as I read and memorised every word I had on my hard drive with surprising ease. There were some.... difficulties, as I realised my eyes were already adapted to that of a Larvae, and I could only clearly see things that moved. But not matter, a little effect added to the text did miracles.

During this memorising, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, picking it up.

"Greetings, Gerald." It was Anita, the building's receptionist. "A boy named John Hazred is here to see you." Well, that was quick.

"Tell them to wait, I'll be there soon." I said to her, hanging up again. Well, that was quick.... show time. Taking a random tablet out of my cabinet, I dashed out of my office and got into the elevator. But before I would meet them, I took a quick detour to another office on a lower floor, there I placed the tablet on the desk. I wanted to leave it at that, but something wasn't quite right..... with that, I took the office's official occupant's name plate and threw it trough the window with enough force to shatter it. Pleased with myself, I nodded at the damage, and once more entered the elevator. Once at the first floor, I exited and immediately spotted John, who looked at me with big eyes as I approached him, obviously not understanding my survival. And here we go.

"Don't worry, I get your disbelief." I told him. "But look at me from top to bottom; nothing Larvae-like. No extra arms, no bulging insect eyes." With that I jokingly pulled out my tongue. "Just as pink as the one I was born with."

"I see you managed to escape." The spider said. He didn't sound to trusting. I had to play it right, make it believable. I spread my arms in a gesture of openness, careful that my still-growing extra arms were wrapped tightly against my torso.

"Dumb luck." I told him. "His bite paralysed me for about ten minutes and that creature taught I'd be out of it for hours, just to wake up as a Larvae."

"You defeated a Larvae?" The spider asked. "An ordinary human that defeated a Larvae of Moloch?" Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Well.... I'm not that ordinary." I said, as I tapped on a flower vase that sat on the receptionist's desk. The metal crumbled into blue dust and the plastic tulips changed into beetles who fled away. "Demons and magic of the Ancient Sumerians have been my field of study for ten years. You learn some things on the way." I sadly shook my head. "Once I knew those magical spells actually meant something......"

"The Larvae." John asked, getting back on track. "Is it dead?"

"No. Sorry." I said. Shouldn't make it sound _to _miraculous. "I'm just starting to understand the spells. He's probably still following a butterfly. A wildly flapping butterfly that only exists in his mind." I could hear John giggle. Good, the kid was buying it.

"Funny. Say, did you know we....." With that he stopped, probably being told off by his less gullible companion.

"You've been incredibly lucky, Gerald." The spider said, hopping on John's shoulder to get closer to me. "Normally, Larvae inject you with venom in the first bite and change them into a Larvae."

"What can I say? A chance of one in one-hundred and forty-four?" I said, making sure I picked a totally random number. "Sometimes you're just lucky."

"Why did you come back?" The spider kept interrogating. "Your office would be the first place they'd look." Oh, this was so much fun. The spider was an extra-ordinary witty beast, difficult to fool. But he has met his match in the new me.

"I couldn't keep the portal to their world open, now could I?" With that I nudged to the elevator. "Come, I'll personally show you that my window no longer looks out to Moloch's bloody lake." With that I guided them to my, er.... 'Extra' office and allowed them to snoop around. John started looking trough the broken window, as the spider made it's way to the fake tablet.

"How did you manage to close the portal exactly?" The spider asked.

"Well, I opened the portal by reciting the incantation. So I taught; maybe it would close if I would recite it again." I told him. "As you can see, it worked like a charm." My eyes averted to John, who started looking around. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I asked him, seeing him snoop around the drawers.

"Sender; W.F. Dole." John said, tossing the envelopes on the desk. "What are those doing in your desk?" Oh brilliant. Hazred Junior figured it out, dooming himself in the process. Oh, well.... it was the taught that mattered. With a swift movement, I grabbed the boy's wrist with one hand and I swiped the spider in the other.

"To bad." I told him, as I saw his fearful eyes. "I'm still human enough to not wish you any harm. I'd loved to let you go." With that I spat out my human teeth, no need for the guise any more. The Larvae teeth made their way trough my gums. It felt good, liberating. "Much better. The body of a Larvae is much more preferable then that of a human, much more agile." With that I took John and made a few graceful steps, lifting the boy of his feet. Hey, if you got it, flaunt it.

That's when things went a little pear-shaped, as John used his free hand to toss.... something out of his pocket. And with that, the world was on fire. Everything started to move and bounce, as my motion-sensitive eyes saw so many things move, I didn't even know which way was up. Dropping what I had, I sliced my hand trough the air, attempting to catch... whatever was searing trough the room like a swarm of speeding mosquitoes. This was maddening! In a desperate move, I jumped up to the ceiling, feeling claws rip trough my fingers as I held on to it, before jumping back down. My head started to hurt like hell, as I held it, closing my eyes and screeching inhumanly. So much movement.... I wouldn't be surprised if John fled trough the mayhem he created. But that didn't matter to much. I carefully opened one eye, only to be greeted by to much movement once more and I closed it again. I guess I just have to wait..... to wait for those damn balls to stop bouncing.


	5. Chapter 5

It stopped. Finally, it stopped.... I opened my eyes and shook my head in order to clear it. Looking around at the mess those balls created, I picked one up and threw it. It came straight back at me at top-speed, but I snatched it in mid-air. Pretty clever trick, now it was time to get even. With that I prepared to go to my office and stop them.

That's when it happened.

At first it felt as if the air went denser, as breathing became harder then it should. Then my lungs started to burn, badly. I...I couldn't breathe. This air.... it was poison! My vision clouded over, as I looked at my clawed hands. A dense, green mist came from them, as the claws simply _evaporated_, leaving bloody stumps at my hands. I tried to scream at this, but all over my body, pieces started to melt away and evaporate. With two thuds I could feel my extra pair of arms fall off, as I crossed my weakened arms over the large, bleeding holes this created. The mist came out of my mouth to, as I felt my teeth and tongue dissolve into nothingness. Collapsing, I tried to comprehend what was happening. Melting.... parts of me were melting.... the Larvae parts. The portal.... it must've been closed..... John managed to close it....

Now fully collapsed, a large part of my body simply _vanished_, I felt.... relieved, as I saw the mist that came from me swirling above me, before dissipating. All bits of Larvae had melted away. I.... I would die, but I would die a human.

After a while (Keeping track of time is hard when you're a bleeding mess.) I noticed someone entering and kneeling beside me. John.... I recognised the boy. Opening my mouth, I tried to say something. Like that I was sorry.... or that, despite this end, I was grateful to them.

"Don't try to talk." The spider said, landing next to my face. Nothing more then a black blurry spot. "You don't have a tongue any more. That was Larvae flesh and all that has been evaporated." With one of his paws he tapped my nose. "You want to live?" He asked me. "No matter what price? Even if it costs you your soul? All you have to do is nod." Did he just.... say he could save me? That I still had a chance to live? Of course I wanted that. I attempted to raise my head, a feat on itself. C'mon.... c'mon.....! I failed as my head fell back. "I gather that was a nod. John, your phone." Oh thank God, he got it. I might live trough this.... was my final taught, before darkness claimed me.

_He sure takes his sweet time..._

_A hundred-and-thirteen years.... and still as impatient as ever._

That was the voices I woke up to, as I opened my eyes and was greeted by John, his spider and.... someone else.

"Welcome back to the.... well, welcome back anyway." This man greeted me. All dressed in black. But I wasn't really focussed on that. My body... it was whole again. I looked at my hands. A bit pale, but I had fingers again. No more holes in my sides, and I had a tongue to feel my.... fangs?

Oh.

So that's how.....

"I know it seems a little radical." The spider told me. "But it was not as if we could send you to the hospital. They'd cram you full of needles and let you die anyway."

"I.... see." I said.

"Don't worry." The other man said. "For the first few nights, I'll help you get used to your new body."

"Thanks, Mister......" I said.

"Call me Von Oath." The man told me, smiling and showing his fangs.

"Good." The spider said. "With that out of the way, let's talk price. We stopped the demons, as we said we would, and don't think for a SECOND that this arrangement will be a freebee." I laughed at that. After all this, all the money in the world wouldn't be enough to repay them.....

"There you go." I said, taking the money out of the ATM. It was a good three nights later. "Here's the rest of your fee, including danger-allowance and bonus." With that I handed it over to John. "Kind of a hassle you can only get a maximum of five-hundred dollars at night."

"No worries, you paid us, didn't you?" John said to me. "By the way.... how's your new life?" He asked me, interested.

"Any life is better then no life." I told him, sniggering. "I always did my best work at night, and it's not like you need to pay rent over a coffin. And Mr. Von Oath gave me some useful tips." With that I stepped back in the shadows of a nearby tree. "Once more, thanks, and goodbye!" With that I shifted my body, and flew away as a bat.

That's my story. I went from being a non-believer, to a believer.... to being a part of the world of darkness. I don't know what this new life has in store for me, but I'll manage. I survived one of the darkness' greatest horrors, it could only go up from here.


End file.
